By December 12, 1814, a large British fleet under the command of Sir Alexander Cochrane with more than 8,000 soldiers and sailors aboard, had anchored in the Gulf of Mexico to the east of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne.[15] Preventing access to the lakes was an American flotilla, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones, consisting of five gunboats. On December 14, around 1,200 British sailors and Royal Marines under Captain Nicholas Lockyer[16] set out to attack Jones' force. Lockyer's men sailed in 42 longboats, each armed with a small carronade. Lockyer captured Jones' vessels in a brief engagement known as the Battle of Lake Borgne. 17 British sailors were killed and 77 wounded,[17] while 6 Americans were killed, 35 wounded, and 86 captured.[17] The wounded included both Jones and Lockyer. Now free to navigate Lake Borgne, thousands of British soldiers, under the command of General John Keane, were rowed to Pea Island, about 30 miles (48 km) east of New Orleans, where they established a garrison.

On the morning of December 23, Keane and a vanguard of 1,800 British soldiers reached the east bank of the Mississippi River, 9 miles (14 km) south of New Orleans.[18] Keane could have attacked the city by advancing for a few hours up the river road, which was undefended all the way to New Orleans, but he made the fateful decision to encamp at Lacoste's Plantation[19] and wait for the arrival of reinforcements.[20] During the afternoon of December 23, after he had learned of the position of the British encampment, Andrew Jackson reportedly said, "By the Eternal they shall not sleep on our soil."[21] This intelligence had been provided by Colonel Thomas Hinds' Squadron of Light Dragoons, a militia unit from the Mississippi Territory.[22][23] That evening, attacking from the north, Jackson led 2,131[24] men in a brief three-pronged assault on the unsuspecting British troops, who were resting in their camp. Then Jackson pulled his forces back to the Rodriguez Canal, about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the city. The Americans suffered 24 killed, 115 wounded, and 74 missing,[25] while the British reported their losses as 46 killed, 167 wounded, and 64 missing.[26]

Historian Robert Quimby says, "the British certainly did win a tactical victory, which enabled them to maintain their position."[27] However, Quimby goes on to say, "It is not too much to say that it was the battle of December 23 that saved New Orleans. The British were disabused of their expectation of an easy conquest. The unexpected and severe attack made Keane even more cautious...he made no effort to advance on the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth."[28] As a consequence, the Americans were given time to begin the transformation of the canal into a heavily fortified earthwork.[29] On Christmas Day, General Edward Pakenham arrived on the battlefield and ordered a reconnaissance-in-force on December 28 against the American earthworks protecting the advance to New Orleans. That evening, General Pakenham met with General Keane and Admiral Cochrane for an update on the situation, angry with the position that the army had been placed in. General Pakenham wanted to use Chef Menteur Road as the invasion route but was overruled by Admiral Cochrane who insisted that his boats were providing everything that could be needed.[30] Admiral Cochrane believed that the British Army would destroy a ramshackle American army and allegedly said that if the Army would not do so his sailors would. Whatever Pakenham's thoughts on the matter, the meeting settled the method and place of the attack.[31]

When the British reconnaissance-in-force withdrew, the Americans began construction of earthworks to protect the artillery batteries, which were then christened Line Jackson. The Americans installed eight batteries, which included one 32-pound gun, three 24-pounders, one 18-pounder, three 12-pounders, three 6-pounders, and a 6-inch (150 mm) howitzer. Jackson also sent a detachment of men to the west bank of the Mississippi to man two 24-pounders and two 12-pounders from the grounded warship USS Louisiana. Jackson's force was outnumbered by the attacking British forces. Jackson's army of 4,732 men comprised 968 US Army regulars,[32] 58 US Marines, 106 seamen of the US Naval battalion, 1,060 Louisiana Militia and volunteers (including 462 free people of color), 1,352 Tennessee Militia, 986 Kentucky Militia, 150 Mississippi Militia and 52 Choctaw warriors, along with a force of the pirate Jean Lafitte'sBaratarians. Additionally, Jackson had the support of warships in the Mississippi River, including the USS Louisiana, the USS Carolina and a steamboat Enterprise,

The main British army arrived on New Year's Day 1815, and attacked the earthworks using their artillery. An exchange of artillery fire began that lasted for three hours. Several of the American guns were destroyed or knocked out, including the 32-pounder, a 24-pounder, and a 12-pounder, and some damage was done to the earthworks. The British guns ran out of ammunition, which led Pakenham to cancel the attack. Unknown at the moment to Pakenham, the Americans on the left of Line Jackson near the swamp had broken and run from the position. Pakenham decided to wait for his entire force of over 8,000 men to assemble before launching his attack.[33]

1815 painting of the battle by participant Jean Hyacinthe de Laclotte of the Louisiana Militia based on his memories and sketches made at the site.

Early 19th century map depicting the battlefield at Chalmette Plantation on January 8, 1815

On January 8, 1815, the British marched against New Orleans, hoping that by capturing the city they could separate Louisiana from the rest of the United States. Pirate Jean Lafitte, however, had warned the Americans of the attack, and the arriving British found militiamen under General Andrew Jackson strongly entrenched at the Rodriquez Canal.[34] In the early morning of January 8, Pakenham ordered a two-pronged assault against Jackson's position. Colonel William Thornton (of the 85th Regiment) was to cross the Mississippi during the night with his 780-strong force, move rapidly upriver and storm the battery commanded by Commodore Daniel Patterson on the flank of the main American entrenchments and then open an enfilading fire on Jackson's line with howitzers and rockets.[35] Then, the main attack, directly against the earthworks manned by the vast majority of American troops,[36] would be launched in two columns (along the river led by Keane and along the swamp line led by Major General Samuel Gibbs). The brigade commanded by Major General John Lambert was held in reserve.

Preparations for the attack had floundered early, as a canal being dug by Cochrane's sailors collapsed and the dam made to divert the flow of the river into the canal failed, leaving the sailors to drag the boats of Col. Thornton's west bank assault force through deep mud and left the force starting off just before daybreak, 12 hours late.[37]

The battlefield at Chalmette Plantation on January 8, 1815

The attack began under darkness and a heavy fog, but as the British neared the main enemy line the fog lifted, exposing them to withering artillery fire. Lt-Col. Thomas Mullins, the British commander of the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot, had forgotten the ladders and fascines needed to cross a canal and scale the earthworks, and confusion evolved in the dark and fog as the British tried to close the gap. Most of the senior officers were killed or wounded, including General Gibbs, leading the main attack column on the right comprising the 4th, 21st, 44th and 5th West India Regiments, and Colonel Rennie leading a detachment of light companies of the 7th, 43rd, and 93rd on the left by the river.

Possibly because of Thornton's delay in crossing the river and the withering artillery fire that might hit them from across the river, the 93rd Highlanders were ordered to leave Keane's assault column advancing along the river and move across the open field to join the main force on the right of the field. Keane fell wounded as he crossed the field with the 93rd. Rennie's men managed to attack and overrun an American advance redoubt next to the river, but without reinforcements they could neither hold the position nor successfully storm the main American line behind. Within minutes, the American 7th Infantry arrived, moved forward, and fired upon the British in the captured redoubt: within half an hour, Rennie and most of his men were dead. In the main attack on the right, the British infantrymen either flung themselves to the ground, huddled in the canal, or were mowed down by a combination of musket fire and grapeshot from the Americans. A handful made it to the top of the parapet on the right but were either killed or captured. The 95th Rifles had advanced in open skirmish order ahead of the main assault force and were concealed in the ditch below the parapet, unable to advance further without support.

The two large main assaults on the American position were repulsed. Pakenham and his second-in-command, General Gibbs, were fatally wounded, while on horseback, by grapeshot fired from the earthworks. Command then fell to the highest ranking living officer who was Major Wilkinson. Major Wilkinson reformed his lines and made a third assault. They were able to reach the entrenchments and attempted to scale them. Wilkinson made it to the top, before being shot. The Americans were amazed at his bravery and carried him behind the rampart. With most of their senior officers dead or wounded, the British soldiers, having no orders to advance further or retreat, stood out in the open and were shot apart with grapeshot from Line Jackson. General Lambert was reserve and took command. He gave the order for his reserve to advance and ordered the withdrawal of the army. The reserve was used to cover the retreat of what was left of the English army in the field.

The only British success was on the west bank of the Mississippi River, where Thornton's brigade, comprising the 85th Regiment and detachments from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines,[38][39][40][41][42] attacked and overwhelmed the American line.[43] The sides of the canal by which the boats were to be brought through to the Mississippi caved in and choked the passage, so that only enough got through to take over a half of Thornton’s force. With these, seven hundred in number, he crossed, but as he did not allow for the current, it carried him down about two miles below the proper landing-place. Thornton’s brigade won their battle, but Colonel Thornton was dangerously wounded. This success, though a brilliant one, and a disgrace to the American arms, had no effect on the battle.[44] Army casualties among the 85th Foot were: 2 deaths, 1 man taken prisoner, and 41 wounded.[45] Though both Jackson and Commodore Patterson reported that the retreating forces had spiked their cannon, leaving no guns to turn on the Americans' main defense line, this is contradicted by Major Mitchell's diary which makes it clear this was not so, as he states he had "Commenced cleaning enemy's guns to form a battery to enfilade their lines on the left bank".[46] General Lambert ordered his Chief of Artillery, Colonel Alexander Dickson, to assess the position. Dickson reported back that no fewer than 2,000 men would be needed to hold the position. General Lambert issued orders to withdraw after the defeat of their main army on the east bank and retreated, taking a few American prisoners and cannon with them.[47][48]

This was one of the most remarkable battles known to history. In the brief space of twenty-five minutes the enemy lost seven hundred killed, fourteen hundred wounded and five hundred prisoners – a total loss of twenty-six hundred men; the American loss being only seven killed and six wounded.[49] Adjutant-general Robert Butler, in his official report to General Jackson a few days after the battle of the eighth, placed the losses of the British at seven hundred killed, fourteen hundred wounded, and five hundred prisoners; twenty-six hundred men, or almost one third the entire number the enemy admitted to have taken part in the contest of the day. The loss of the Americans was six killed and seven wounded thirteen in all.[50] After the battle was over, around 500 British soldiers who had pretended to be dead rose up and surrendered to the Americans. The bugle boy climbs a tree within 200 yards of the American line. He played throughout the battle, with shooting whizzing around him. He was captured after the battle and considered a hero by the Americans.

Almost universal blame was attributed to Colonel Mullins, of the Forty-fourth Regiment, which was detailed under orders to prepare and have ready, and to carry to the front on the morning of the eighth, fascines and ladders with which to cross the ditch and scale the parapet, as the soldiers fought their way to the breastwork of the Americans. It was freely charged that the Colonel deserted his trust and at the moment of need was half a mile to the rear. It was then that Pakenham, learning of Mullins' conduct, placed himself at the head of the Forty-fourth and endeavored to lead them to the front with the implements needed to storm the works, when he fell mortally wounded.[51]

The British planned to sail up the Mississippi River, however Fort St. Philip stood in the way. On January 9, British naval forces attacked Fort St. Philip which protected New Orleans from an amphibious assault from the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. The U.S. Forces as well as gunners working from privateer ships were able to fend off the attacks. The forces within the fort withstood ten days of bombardment by cannon before the British ships withdrew on January 18, 1815.

Three days after the battle, General Lambert held a council of war where he concluded that despite his request for reinforcements as well as a siege train, capturing New Orleans and continuing the Louisiana campaign would be too costly and thus agreed with his officers to withdraw.[citation needed] By January 19 the British camp at Villere's Plantation had been completely evacuated.[12][13]

On February 4, 1815, the fleet, with all of the British troops aboard, set sail toward Mobile Bay, Alabama.[2][52][53] The British army then attacked and captured Fort Bowyer at the mouth of Mobile Bay on February 12. The following day, the British army was making preparations to attack Mobile when news arrived of the peace treaty. General Jackson had made tentative plans to attack the British at Mobile and continue the war into Spanish Florida on the grounds the British were using it as a base. He carried out those plans for Florida much later. The treaty had been ratified by the British Parliament but would not be ratified by Congress and the President until mid-February. It did, however, resolve that hostilities should cease, and the British abandoned Fort Bowyer and sailed home to their base in the West Indies.[54] Although the Battle of New Orleans had no influence on the terms of the Treaty of Ghent, the defeat at New Orleans did compel Britain to abide by the treaty.[55] This was crucial because uncovered British war records show that in October 1814, Maj. Gen. Pakenham had been given secret orders to continue fighting in the area regardless of the capture of New Orleans or any peace deal; he was told, "If you hear of a peace treaty, pay no attention, continue to fight."[56]

Many regarded the battle as "The Needless Battle" but as subsequent events showed the war was still ongoing until the ratification of the Treaties of Ghent.

However, it would have been problematic for the British to continue the war in North America, due to Napoleon's escape from Elba on February 26, 1815, which ensured their forces were needed in Europe.[57] Also, since the Treaty of Ghent did not specifically mention the vast territory America had acquired with the Louisiana Purchase, it only required both sides to give back those lands that had been taken from the other during the war.[58]

Battle of New Orleanspostage stamp depicting Andrew Jackson. Issued in 1965 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, Chalmettte Plantation, Jan. 8–18.

From December 25, 1814, to January 26, 1815, British casualties during the Louisiana Campaign, apart from the assault on January 8, were 49 killed, 87 wounded and 4 missing.[59] Thus, British casualties for the entire campaign totaled 2,459: 386 killed, 1,521 wounded, and 552 missing. American casualties for the entire campaign totaled 333: 55 killed, 185 wounded, and 93 missing.[4]

Although the engagement was small compared to other contemporary battles such as the Battle of Waterloo, it was important for the meaning applied to it by Americans in general and Andrew Jackson in particular.[60]

US troops along Jackson's Line fire on British soldiers on a stamp issued January 8, 2015. This was the final US stamp in a War of 1812 series of four marking its bicentennial.

Americans believed that a vastly powerful British fleet and army had sailed for New Orleans (Jackson himself thought 25,000 troops were coming), and most expected the worst. The news of victory, one man recalled, "came upon the country like a clap of thunder in the clear azure vault of the firmament, and traveled with electromagnetic velocity, throughout the confines of the land."[61] The battle boosted the reputation of Andrew Jackson and helped to propel him to the White House. The anniversary of the battle was celebrated as a national holiday for many years, and continues to be commemorated in south Louisiana.

In honor of Jackson, the newly organized Louisiana Historical Association dedicated its new Memorial Hall facility on January 8, 1891, the 76th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.[62]

Mosaic of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Old Ursulines Convent complex, French Quarter, New Orleans.

With the Americans outnumbered it seemed as though the city of New Orleans was in danger of being captured. Consequently, the Ursuline nuns along with many faithful people of New Orleans gathered in the Ursuline Convent's chapel before the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. They spent the night before the battle praying and crying before the holy statue, begging for the Virgin Mary's intercession.

On the morning of January 8, the Very Rev. William Dubourg, Vicar General, offered Mass at the altar on which the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor had been placed. The Prioress of the Ursuline convent, Mother Ste. Marie Olivier de Vezin, made a vow to have a Mass of Thanksgiving sung annually should the American forces win. At the very moment of communion, a courier ran into the chapel to inform all those present that the British had been defeated.

General Jackson went to the convent himself to thank the nuns for their prayers: "By the blessing of heaven, directing the valor of the troops under my command, one of the most brilliant victories in the annals of war was obtained." [63] The vow made by Mother Ste. Marie has been faithfully kept throughout the years.[64]

^Britain's Louisiana Campaign consisted of several military engagements that were less important than the epic battle of January 8, 1815, widely known as the Battle of New Orleans. The first, the Battle of Lake Borgne, occurred on December 14, 1814, when British forces captured an American flotilla protecting Lake Borgne. The next occurred on December 23 when Andrew Jackson led a bold night attack on the British camp. The last, which began on January 9, ended on January 18 when the British terminated their unsuccessful bombardment of Fort St. Philip and began to withdraw the last of their troops and ships, signalling the end of their Louisiana Campaign.

^Reilly, Robin (1974). The British at the gates - the New Orleans campaign in the War of 1812. New York: Putnam.

^Rodriguez, Junius P. (2002). The Louisiana Purchase: a historical and geographical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 348: "The Battle of New Orleans settled once and for all the question over the Louisiana Purchase. Neither the British nor the Spanish government had recognized the legality of the transfer, and, in consequence, the British planned either to retain the region or return Louisiana to Spain had they won the battle."

^Thomas, Gregory M. (2005). The Battle of New Orleans. Master of Arts dissertation, Louisiana State University. p. 88: "[The Battle of] New Orleans also eliminated vague British designs on a second colonization of America by expanding Canadian possessions down the Mississippi to the Gulf."

^ abGleig, p. 340: "These preparations [to withdraw] being continued for some days, on the 17th [of January] no part of our force remained in camp except the infantry. Having delayed therefore only till the abandoned guns were rendered unserviceable, on the evening of the 18th it also began its retreat."

^ abLatour, p. 184: "On the morning of the 19th [of January], it was perceived that the enemy [British] had evacuated, not a single man appearing."

^Latour, Appendix lvi-lviii, Copy of a letter from Andrew Jackson to Secretary Monroe, dated January 19, 1815: "Last night at twelve o'clock, the enemy precipitately decamped and returned to his boats,..." "I am advised by major Overton, who commands at fort St. Philip, in a letter of the 18th, that the enemy... had on the morning of that day retired."

^The British regulars included the 4th, 7th, 21st, 43rd, 44th, 85th, 93rd (Highland) Regiments, a 500-man "demi-battalion" of the 95th Rifles, 14th Light Dragoons, and the 1st and 5th West Indies Regiments of several hundred black soldiers from the British West Indies colonies. Other troops included Native American members of the Hitchiti tribe, led by Kinache.

^The Navy detachment and the Marine detachment were led by Captain Rowland Money and Brevet Major Thomas Adair respectively. Money was the ship's captain of HMS Trave, and Adair was the commanding officer of HMS Vengeur (1810)'s detachment of Marines.

^Smith, Zachary (1904). The Battle of New Orleans including the Previous Engagements between the Americans and the British, the Indians and the Spanish which led to the Final Conflict on the 8th of January, 1815 (19 ed.). Louisville, KY: Filson Club Publications. p. 85.|accessdate= requires |url= (help)

^Smith, Zachary (1904). The Battle of New Orleans including the Previous Engagements between the Americans and the British, the Indians and the Spanish which led to the Final Conflict on the 8th of January, 1815 (19 ed.). Louisville KY: Filson Club Publications. p. 105.|accessdate= requires |url= (help)

^Fraser, p. 297, quote:'Rear Admiral Cockburn, at the end of February, was making preparations for a move on Savannah in March when official intelligence that the treaty of peace had been signed by the American President reached him and all proceedings were stopped. The force continued on Cumberland Island until, early in April, it was notified that the treaty had been ratified, on which all withdrew to Bermuda prior to returning to England.'

James, William (1818), A full and correct account of the military occurrences of the late war between Great Britain and the United States of America; with an appendix, and plates. Volume II, London: Printed for the author and distributed by Black et al., ISBN0-665-35743-5, OCLC2226903

Lambert, Andrew (2012), The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812, London: Faber and Faber, ISBN0-571-27319-X

Latour, Arsène Lacarrière (1999) [1816], Historical Memoir of the War in West Florida and Louisiana in 1814-15, with an Atlas, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, ISBN0-8130-1675-4, OCLC40119875

Quimby, Robert S. (1997), The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: an operational and command study, East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, ISBN0-87013-441-8

Reilly, Robin (1974), The British at the gates - the New Orleans campaign in the War of 1812, New York: Putnam, OCLC839952

Remini, Robert V. (1977), Andrew Jackson and the course of American empire, 1767-1821, New York: Harper & Row, ISBN0-06-013574-3

Remini, Robert V. (1999), The Battle of New Orleans, New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc., ISBN0-670-88551-7

Rowland, Eron (1971) [1926], Andrew Jackson's Campaign against the British, or, the Mississippi Territory in the War of 1812, concerning the Military Operations of the Americans, Creek Indians, British, and Spanish, 1813-1815, Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, ISBN0-8369-5637-0

Smith, Gene A. (2004), A British eyewitness at the Battle of New Orleans, the memoir of Royal Navy admiral Robert Aitchison, 1808-1827, New Orleans: The Historic New Orleans Collection, ISBN0-917860-50-0

Smith, Sir Harry "Various Anecdotes and Events of my Life - The Autobiography of Lt. Gen. Sir Harry Smith, covering the period 1787 to 1860" First published in 2 volumes, edited by G.C. Moore, London (1901)